Creating your own meter to calculate water usage

DIY Citizen Solutions
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This solution utilises the NodeMCU microcontroller for IoT applications. NodeMCU facilitates transmitting sensor data via WiFi to another device. For detailed information, visit NodeMCU Official Website: NodeMcu -- An open-source firmware based on ESP8266 wifi-soc.

The steps below explain how to measure water usage at a tap by integrating a flow sensor.
The data collected will then be sent online to a ThingSpeak channel using WiFi connectivity.
Here’s how to do it:


Step 1: Gather Components

  • Microcontroller: NodeMCU
  • Input Sensor: Flow Sensor
  • Output Device: LED, ThingSpeak
  • Libraries Used: LiquidCrystalPCF584 and FastLED

Step 2: Setting Up the Code


#include

#include <SoftwareSerial.h>

#include <DNSServer.h>

#include <ESP8266WebServer.h>

#include <WiFiManager.h>

#include <LiquidCrystal_I2C.h>

// WiFi & API Configuration

String apiKey = “enter your api key”;

const char* host = “rbiot.solveninja.org”;

WiFiClient client;

// Initialize LCD

LiquidCrystal_I2C lcd(0x3F, 16, 2);

// Sensor Configurations & Variables

#define PULSE_PIN D6

#define LED_PIN D7

volatile long pulseCount = 0;

float calibrationFactor = 6.0;

float flowRate;

unsigned int flowMilliLitres;

unsigned long totalMilliLitres;

unsigned long oldTime;

// Interrupt Handler for Pulse Counter

void ICACHE_RAM_ATTR pulseCounter() {

pulseCount++;

}

void setup() {

// Initialize serial communication

Serial.begin(115200);

lcd.init();

lcd.backlight();

// Initializations & pin configurations…

}

void loop() {

// Continuously monitor flow, update LCD, and send data…

// Conditions to calculate flow rate, total liters, and display on LCD…

senddata(); // Function to send data to ThingSpeak

showonlcd(); // Function to display on LCD

}

Step 3: Sending Data to ThingSpeak

  • Connect to WiFi using WiFiManager library
  • Establish connection with ThingSpeak server
  • Send water usage data to ThingSpeak channel
  • Wait for server response and handle timeout

Step 4: Display Data on LCD

  • Utilises LiquidCrystal_I2C to display flow data
  • Updates LCD with current flow rate and total litres used

This code facilitates tracking water usage at a tap by integrating a flow sensor with NodeMCU. The sensor data is transmitted to ThingSpeak for monitoring and analysis.